9 1215225 I Love You
by Moon Destiny
Summary: It doesn't come as a shock to John that his parents hire that geeky Rodney McKay to tutor him in Calculus. A McShep high school AU fic written for comment fic on livejournal.


**Fandom:** SGA  
**Title:** 9 12-15-22-5 = I Love You  
**Pairing/Character:** John Sheppard/Rodney McKay  
**Rating:** PG  
**Disclaimer:** SGA © Brad Wright & MGM. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary: **It doesn't come as a shock to John that his parents hire that geeky Rodney McKay to tutor him in Calculus.  
**Notes: **Written for comment_fic on livejournal for beautybecks' prompt _maths_. Also, terribly AU. A high school AU.  
**Word Count: **1573  
------

It doesn't come as a shock to John that his parents hire that geeky Rodney McKay to tutor him in Calculus. The fact is that he could be doing better and therefore saving his parents money, but then he wouldn't have the chance to turn his charm on Rodney to make him like John.

(The fact that they had the same math class didn't help, as that was what had gotten John smitten and twitterpated in the first place.)

On the first Monday afternoon of their tutoring session, John takes a shower, puts enough cologne on to almost make his mother faint, and dresses in his black jeans (to accentuate his great ass) and tight black t-shirt (to show off his abs).

He spends some time tugging and pulling at his hair, going for the slightly disheveled appearance which numerous chicks have said was a great look on him.

All in all, he thinks he looks devilishly handsome. Rodney won't be able to stand a chance.

------

"I've got it," John yells, running down the stairs and to the front door when the bell rings.

He checks himself one last time in the hallway mirror before he schools his features into a bored look.

He opens the door to find Rodney standing there awkwardly, one hand tightly gripping his backpack, the other lugging the big Calculus book they all do problems out of.

"Hi, come on in," he says nonchalant and as bored as he can make his voice sound (though, really, on the inside he's about as giddy as a schoolboy can get- not that he'd EVER admit to that).

He leads them to the kitchen, and Rodney starts digging out a notebook, pencil, calculator, all the essentials, and John feels his mood deflate a bit. Does Rodney really expect them to work for the whole afternoon?

He must because he sits down, opening the book, and looks at John obviously expecting him to do the same. John sighs, and decides to go along with him for the time being.

------

He's really, really trying to pay attention (and some of it does get through), but he can't help focusing on Rodney's mouth and his hands and his face and, well, basically the whole man in front of him.

He nods along every once in a while, just to show that yeah, it looks like he's listening but he really isn't, and pretends that his eyes are only on Rodney because he's talking and it's the polite thing to do.

John scoots closer, so that they're bumping arms, and leans against Rodney's side exaggeratedly to see how he had worked out the problem, hoping just the proximity of him will do wild things to Rodney.

Before they start on the next problem, John says, "Do you want something to drink? We can take a little break."

"Um, you know, a break would be awesome. Where's your bathroom?"

"Up the stairs to your right."

Rodney nods and gets up from the table quickly.

John gets up too, paces his kitchen, deciding that if they're not making out in the next five minutes, he'll explode. They have been at this for more than an hour, and he only has Rodney for two. (He isn't such a simpleton that he can't deduce that doesn't leave him as much time as he desires for doing other things with Rodney besides learning how to do stupid math which he already knows but is so transfixed by his object of affections he can't focus on said subject.)

He hears Rodney coming down the stairs, and dumps himself back into his chair, leaning back, and picking up his pencil to twirl casually.

"OK, where were we?" Rodney asks excitedly, wiping his hands against his thighs, and John suppresses his moans. Seriously?

"Um, Rodney, would you like some strawberries?"

"Hmmm?" Rodney looks up, and John shoves the bowl of the fresh fruit nearer.

"Don't mind if I do." And Rodney digs into the strawberries, the juice squirting a little along his mouth.

John rewards himself on not pouncing on Rodney right then and there (he feels he would be perfectly justified) and simply offers the man a napkin. Rodney smiles his thanks, and John feels as though he got all the wind knocked out of him.

He really can't handle it anymore.

"Um, you've still got some food left..." John trails off, lifting his finger to touch Rodney's lip.

Rodney's mouth hangs open, and John swoops in, gently pressing his mouth onto the other boy's.

It lasts for only a fraction of a second before Rodney's pulling himself away, jumping away from him, and gathering his books hastily.

"Um, I just remembered I have to go. Right now. I have to feed my cat, yeah, there's no one at home to feed her now, and I didn't all day, so I have to go now, and feed her, yeah."

John's feeling a little flabbergasted (the kiss, as brief as it was, was nicer than he imagined it being), but now Rodney's babbling at him all of a sudden about his cat, and before he can gather his brain from the mush it has turned into, he's left all alone in the kitchen, wondering what the hell just happened.

------

John doesn't believe it possible, but Rodney, somehow, ends up avoiding him. He tries to talk to him before class but Rodney always seems to come in right when the bell rings and the teacher starts yammering, and he's always the first one out before anyone has the chance to catch him before he gets lost in the throng of million other students.

He thinks he finally has a chance to talk to Rodney again when they have their next tutoring session on Wednesday, but, instead of finding Rodney at the door, he finds one of Rodney's friends, Radek, standing expectantly.

"Ahh, where's Rodney?" Not that he has anything against Radek personally, but he's just not that attractive to look at honestly, just a scrawny kid with round glasses.

"Rodney is not able to make it today, so he asked me to fill in for him," Radek says with his accent, and John feels like kicking himself in the ass if it were possible in any way.

Great going, he berated himself; he had managed to alienate the one person who made his heart clench in joy and his southern parts hard from merely looking at him.

He and Radek get to work then, despite the fact that Radek seems to not want to be there and John only asks about Rodney and doesn't seem to actually be paying any attention to his homework.

Two hours slowly go by, all the while John formulating a plan to get Rodney to talk to him again- if only to explain himself and beg them to be friends.

"Hey, Radek, when you see Rodney, can you tell him to meet me in the Math lab tomorrow after school? Please?" John asks when Radek packs up to go.

Radek scrutinizes him, but nods.

John Sheppard wasn't one who usually felt great amounts of nervousness in his eighteen years, but suddenly, this was a great nerve-wrecking ball of nervousness.

------

He barely sleeps that night, imagining what he'd say to Rodney- if Rodney came at all- going through the various scenarios which would make him favorable to the hot geek once more.

He feels stupid at more than one of them, feels like a silly fool for most of them, and half of them he doubts will even work.

But morning comes, and still Rodney acts as though he doesn't exist, and by the time their meeting rolls around, John feels unsettled and like he wants to hurl his lunch.

He ends up waiting for ten minutes before he gives up and goes home.

------

He starts getting desperate then; it has been two weeks, two grueling weeks since he lost his mind and kissed Rodney.

That desperation leads him to write a note to Rodney to pass him in class. (Well, not so much a note as like a two-page essay that's more of a dissertation on his feelings than anything else.)

It lands on Rodney's desk, and he looks around to see who it could've come from, but John sticks his face in his book before his eyes roam over him.

------

The doorbell rings that afternoon, and John opens the door to find Rodney standing there, as awkward as ever. He beams at Rodney, face wanting to split open in joy because Rodney's _here_.

"I, um, got your note, and well, I just have one question."

John nods solemnly, trying to look sorry.

"Was it a joke? You kissing me. Was it just some sort of prank?"

John's horrified and surprised. "No, Rodney, no, of course not. I really like you."

And here Rodney blushes and somewhere deep inside of John that warm, tingly feeling returns.

"I like you too," Rodney says, adorably quiet and looking everywhere but at John.

And John does what he's been fantasizing about doing for weeks now that he knows Rodney McKay is a pretty fantastic kisser. So he grabs Rodney's wrist, pulls him closer, and assaults his mouth happily; this time it goes on for much longer.

They're both thoroughly ruffled in appearance and breathless by the time they come up for air, yet blissfully continue on.


End file.
